St. Michael’s Health Group
Based in Edmonton, Canada, St. Michael’s Health Group has been dedicated to providing compassionate care for seniors since 1976. Known for its innovative approach, the facility is always on the lookout for technological advancements that can improve both care and quality of life for residents. This is what led Tatsiana Haidukevich (Director, Resident Care) to PainChek.
“As an innovative organisation, we are constantly looking for advancements in care to improve residents’ quality of life,” Tatsiana says. “Our search for the latest advancements in aged care led us to implement PainChek at St. Michael’s Health Group. We consider ourselves lucky that we came across PainChek, as it represents the next level of pain assessment.”
After a successful 3-month pilot, St. Michael’s Health Group has become PainChek’s first commercially contracted long-term care client in North America, signing a 3-year agreement.
Effective pain management for St. Michael’s Health Group residents, especially those with dementia, is inherently challenging. 70% are living with varying stages of dementia, which often makes it hard for them to express the pain they are experiencing. Up to 20% of all residents are treated with pain medication to help alleviate discomfort from issues such as arthritis or fractures.
St. Michael’s Health Group has always been focused on appropriately assessing and treating pain, previously using the PAINAD tool to assess pain. Since the introduction of PainChek®, St. Michael’s has seen further improvements in areas such as:
1. Resident care
More accurate pain assessments have led to appropriate interventions, ensuring residents receive the right medication dosage when needed. One female resident had been displaying severe BPSD for over a year, with this behaviour having been attributed to the impacts of dementia. Following the introduction of PainChek® it was identified that the resident was experiencing severe pain. An updated pain management plan was put in place, supported by regular PainChek® assessments, resulting in a significant and rapid reduction in the resident’s pain over a 2-week period.
“For this resident living with advanced dementia, PainChek® has been invaluable,” Tatsiana shares. “Tracking her pain was challenging because of her intense discomfort and shifting cognitive conditions. With PainChek®, we could better understand the shifts in her pain levels. The insights from the app guided our nurse to adjust her medication, and we were able to reduce the severity of her pain over time. Pain levels have significantly reduced, and her family is very happy her condition has improved.”
2. Pain assessment quality
Nurses now conduct pain assessments with increased confidence.
“The nursing team constantly reflects on how the tool has transformed their pain assessments,” Tatsiana says. “Previously, some procedures had become routine, without much thought put into the manual assessments.”
“There has been an obvious shift with PainChek®. Our nurses now feel better equipped, more empowered, and more thorough when conducting pain assessments.”
3. Process efficiency
While earlier assessments were manual, PainChek® digitised assessments have made the process more efficient. The tool’s analytics functionality allows quick pain level checks, informs nurse follow-ups in a timely way, and integrates with St. Michael’s CMS system, PointClickCare®.
“The fact that we can do the progress notes on PainChek® and they go straight to PointClickCare®, that’s excellent,” Tatsiana says.
4. Positive feedback from residents’ loved ones
Families noticed a greater focus on pain assessments and medication management, leading to a feeling of reassurance that their loved ones are in less discomfort.
Beyond PainChek®, St. Michael’s Health Group has integrated various technologies, including skin and wound assessments, and the Rejoice Two initiative, which offers hand exercises to residents in the form of computer games.
St. Michael’s adoption of PainChek® exemplifies their commitment to providing the highest level of care. As Tatsiana puts it:
“PainChek® represents best practice, something we pride ourselves on at St. Michael’s. We’re committed to giving the best quality of care to our residents, and tools like PainChek® help us to do this.”
